CFDBNYC Out and About

Our coverage of the 2026 edition of Dances With Films NYC is getting completed and before we wrapped up everything from the festival we have to discuss one more film: Stop Time. A drama based in New York City where a photographer who still grieving over his deceased wife and a theatrical lighting designer who recently divorced who eventually meet through mutual friends. The film directed and written by Paul Schwartz, a known photographer who shot the majority of the film in black and white before colors pop up in the end of the film. The backdrop of New York always bring out the best in love lost or finding love and in the case of Stop Time it works. The story of Peter, the photographer and Adrianna the lighting designer meeting is the meat of the movie as their mutual friends tries their best to get them together but somehow one of them or both seems to find a way to get away without knowing it. The pace of the film is moderate but it picks up in the middle of the film where the two meet their respective families for unresolved issues. Once that takes place the film slows a bit leading into the actual meet between the two. Schwartz does give the actors a big help with showcasing the city scape to highlight the story. Watching the black and white gives it a throwback to the 30s or even 50s when finding love movies were the norm. We love the interaction between the main characters in the end because they knew time was running out or thought it was.

The acting by Nelson Avidon as Peter is brilliant as he captures a man who believes time has stopped because of the passing of his wife. His mannerisms to look confused while daydreaming is great. You watch his interaction with others and you can tell he embraced being a wandering soul looking for something lost. Tara Westwood as Adrianna is great too and her mannerisms finding out her family secrets is fantastic. The script written by Schwartz keeps it simple: two people looking for love but in opposite directions until something bring them all together. The pacing was very moderate. The time it takes to build characters in dialogue was easy to digest and understand. There was enough time to see a back story of the main characters to know what may or may not happen in the end. It is also a great visual piece especially coming from a professional photographer. A nice film that break away from the normal rom com films with a ending that ties up Peter’s way of doing things perfectly. We think this is one of those films that will dominate the festival circuit in whichever festival its in.